The Balsillie Papers provides clear, concise, peer-reviewed articles about today’s most complex issues in global governance and international affairs.

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LATEST PAPER

Governing Machine-speed Cyber Defence: Policy Frameworks for Agentic AI

Balsillie Paper COVER- Yazdinejad Karimipour Nathwani
Abbas Yazdinejad, Hadis Karimipour and Jatin Nathwani

This paper assesses gaps in governance of machine-speed security through the lens of defending a critical societal infrastructure, focusing on energy and smart grid systems. This paper also proposes four governing principles to guide international policymaking around agentic cyber defence.

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RECENT PAPERS

The Paused Continental Defence Bargain: Architecture, Asymmetry and the 2026 CUSMA Joint Review

Barry Appleton
This paper contends that the pause is the defence-side expression of an integrated US strategy that treats trade, technology and continental security as a single negotiating surface rather than as separate policy domains.

Defending Canada’s Information Sovereignty: Aligning with the EU’s Digital Services Act

Marcus Kolga
Just as Canada works with its allies to defend its physical borders and national sovereignty, it must also cooperate with them to protect the integrity and sovereignty of its information space.
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Scaling Up Carbon Removal: Policy Challenges and Plausible Future Pathways

Farzana Enam Rasna
This paper explores three plausible future scenarios for scaling Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR). Rather than predicting specific outcomes, the analysis offers foresight into potential trajectories of global CDR governance and highlights risks and opportunities that could shape more equitable and effective carbon removal strategies.

Whose Law Governs Canadian Data?

The CLOUD Act, Executive Agreements and Digital Sovereignty

SPECIAL REPORT

MARCH 11, 2026

Barry Appleton